West Virginia Watch - West Virginia 14- and 15-year-olds seeking employment would no longer be required to have a work permit under a bill approved by the House of Delegates Friday morning. Read the full article. Delegates passed Senate Bill 427 with a 91 to 9 vote. The House’s nine Democrats voted against the bill. There was no discussion…
Income and Work
West Virginia Public Broadcasting - Despite an increase in state funding compared with last year, advocates for child care say an estimated 2,000 families could lose access to child care due to a lack of funding. The state had been relying on COVID-19 era federal funding to fund a expensive change in how daycares are paid out…
Reuters - The phone rang over the whine of Trey Yates' butter churn. The person calling was polite, but the message was devastating: Mountaineer Food Bank was ending Yates' butter contract, due to the federal government's funding cuts. Read the full article. The next day, President Donald Trump signed a declaration celebrating National Agriculture Day,…
Introduction Elon Musk and the Trump administration are illegally firing federal employees who serve West Virginian veterans, seniors, farmers, and small businesses; keep our food, water, national parks, and workplaces safe; and carry out critical medical research, emergency response, and disaster relief missions. Federal employees and their families are also our neighbors who live, work,…
West Virginia Watch, Beckley Register-Herald , Ohio Capital Journal- Two hundred workers were laid off from the Bureau of Fiscal Service in Parkersburg. Thousands from the Department of Veterans Affairs (including at least 10 in West Virginia). And hundreds each from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Caring for our veterans,…
West Virginia Public Broadcasting - During his first week in office, Gov. Patrick Morrisey delivered a picture of the state’s fiscal health in stark contrast to his predecessor’s projections of strength for the state. Read the full article. “The state will have a projected deficit of approximately $400 million and that number is projected to rise more…
West Virginia Public Broadcasting – In 2023, an estimated 20,000 West Virginia children under age six were unable to receive child care due to capacity issues, according to an August 2024 report from the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy. Read the full article. Will Miller, interim state director for the West Virginia Small Business Development Center (SBDC),…
Mountain State Spotlight, Bluefield Daily Telegraph, Charleston Gazette-Mail - Newly-elected Gov. Patrick Morrisey has launched his “Backyard Brawl” initiative through executive order. He’s promised to improve West Virginia’s economic rankings by outpacing neighboring states. Read the full article. Through his initiative, Morrisey has vowed to continue cutting the state’s personal income tax. He’s also said his…
West Virginia News - The annual Kids Count Data Book was recently published, highlighting where each state ranks in terms of child well-being. Read the full article. As a whole, West Virginia placed 44th in the nation after looking at data in categories including education, health, economy and family and community. The study helps officials…
Overview Read the full fact sheet. Federal policymakers are reportedly considering enacting work reporting requirements for Medicaid in the new Congress. Similar state-level policy led to disastrous consequences in Arkansas in 2018-19 until a federal judge blocked the program. Enacting an Arkansas-style work reporting requirement at the federal level would result in West Virginia’s health…